drewferranfandomcom-20200213-history
Rage of Lions
Summary Synopsis Prologue Sorry Part 1 Dukes Bergan and Manfred, along with Earl Mikkel and Count Vega have formed the Wolf's Council with Hector, with Bergan presiding as Lord Protector. In one such meeting, they decide that Gretchen is too much of a distraction to Drew and decide to send her back to Hedgemoor, so she can become accustomed to life there before inheriting it when she comes of age. However, that very day, Gretchen is kidnapped outside Manfred's residence, the Buck House, with Manfred himself and the Magister Kohl being murdered. Drew and Hector pursue the captors into the sewers of the city, but the appearance of Vankaskan's Rats preventing them from capturing their prey alive. Fortunately, Drew is told that Manfred survived the attack, but is gravely injured nonetheless. The Wolf's Council reasons that, cast out of Highcliff, Vankaskan would most likely flee to his home of Vermire in the North. Broghan, Bergan's son, prepares to take a small force there to intercept the Ratlord. However, Hector, having access to the bodies of the captors, communes with the corpse of Captain Brutus, his father's murderer, in the presence of Drew and Whitley, and learns that Lucas was behind the attack, and that he instead plans to reach Bast, in the south. As the Wolf's Council refused to let Drew play a part in Gretchen's rescue, he plans to save her himself, by sneaking out of the city. To this end, Hector (being a member of the Council, but lacking the restrictions placed upon the Wolf) agrees to escort him out. However, Drew's mother catches him in the act of escaping, but instead of calling for help, lets him go. Despite minor difficulties, Drew is able to escape from Highcliff, along with a disguised Whitley. Part 2 As expected, Hector is called before the rest of the Council and reprimanded for his role in Drew & Whitley's escape. Here, Hector admits to communing with Brutus, and also admits that he has communed before. He also tells Bergan what Brutus told him, regarding the identity of Gretchen's kidnapper and that they should direct their attention to Cape Gala (where Lucas would easily be able to board a ferry to his father's homeland). Despite this, Hector is banned from the Council and leaves in disgrace, but not before Vega (the only one to support the Boar) shares a few kind words with him. Hector muses on the fact that Bergan had stopped his communing too late, as he has already begun to see dark spirits around him, but is interrupted by the sudden arrival of his twin brother, Vincent, who has arrived to seek help, after dwindling away their father's resources. Hector begins to right his brother's wrongs, but Vincent admits another reason for his arrival: as the eldest of the two, Hector stands to inherit Redmire, but Vincent wants him to abdicate, threatening him with the presence of his new Boarguard, Ringlin and Ibal. Meanwhile, Lucas' Lionguard has procured a caravan, killing its previous owners to do so, in order to "escort" Gretchen. She remains hostile to her ex-fiance, while Bussnell, a Lionguard wounded by the attack, is killed by Vankaskan with the steel nail she sought to defend herself with, before leaving him behind as a reminder for the Greencloaks who are hunting them. The Greencloaks are, of course, Drew and Whitley, who before long come across Bussnell, revived by dark magistry. Drew and Whitley are able to slay it, but not before Whitley is gravely wounded. Part 3 A session of the Wolf's Council is held in light of these events. Bo Carver, the self proclaimed Lord of Thieves is brought forward and is questioned about secret passages into Highcliff Keep, but he says he doesn't know of any. The reason for this is the beseiged Leopold's newfound habit of gazing out to sea in the mornings, as if awaiting reinforcements. Meanwhile, Hector endures continuous stress from the presence of his brother and accidentally reveals to him that he has communed, is seeing dark spirits (Viles, as Hector discovers) and that Drew is missing (which the Council intended to keep secret). Vincent uses this information to blackmail Hector into giving up Redmire, but gives him a week to settle his accounts first. Meanwhile, Drew has taken Whitley to Haggard, home to Baron Ewan, a Ram lord, magister and a friend of Bergan's. However, the duo are taken prisoner by the guards and separated. Drew regains consciousness and tells Ewan (an aggressive man) who Whitley is and why they are in Haggard (while keeping his own identity secret), but is duly surprised when "Ewan" addresses a fellow prisoner as such. The fake Ewan is actually the Goatlord Count Kesslar, a slave trader who sees Bergan's daughter as a prize. Kesslar and Ewan formerly rules Haggard together, before Kesslar left in disgrace, after his dubious nature was exposed. However, he snuck in using a passageway underneath the Keep, where Drew is currently prisoned. Fortunately, Whitley, although not fully recovered, is able to steal the key from Djogo, Kesslar's right hand man, and free the prisoners, who fight back. Of course, as the prisoners are unarmed and malnourished, they are quickly pushed back, although the Werelords (Drew, Whitley and Ewan) are able to reach Kesslar's rooms. He takes the weak Whitley as hostage and forces Drew and Djogo into a fight, which ends in the silver manacle around Drew's neck (meant to identify him as a slave and prevent him changing form) shatters, Djogo being blinded in his left eye, and Kesslar realising that Drew is a Wolflord. He threatens to kill Whitley, and moves to escape, telling Ewan to call off the rebellion and spare the remaining slaves, but Broghan arrives from Brackenholme, turning the tide of battle. Although he loses Whitley, Kesslar is able to escape with Djogo, but not before massacring a good portion of his former prisoners, including the Werelord Dorn. Hector is assaulted by Vincent and the Boarguard again, after the week is over in the dead of night, his twin having decided that he can ascend to Baron-hood by killing his brother. However, Vega arrives, worried for the Boarlord and startling Ringlin and Ibal before Vincent slips and Hector accidentally stabs him in the heart. Despite his knife not being silver, the wound is still fatal and Vincent dies. Part 4 Drew and Whitley, now accompanied by Broghan, Harker and their soldiers arrive at Cape Gala and proceed to question Duke Lorimer, the Horselord in charge. Oddly, they are met with hostility, not least because the Horselords wish to become independent of the Seven Isles and simply state that, as it is a large city, Lucas may have easily passed through Cape Gala without their notice. Broghan, Harker and Ewan remain with the Horselords to discuss politics, while the Greencloaks that accompanied them (with Drew and Whitley disguised among them) are escorted to their temporary residence, where their horses and weapons have already been sent. The escorts suddenly disappear, and the Greencloaks find themselves in an ambush. Drew and Whitley move through the massacre and Drew hands her to a Greencloak to be escorted away by boat, while he confronts three of the soldiers attacking them. He identifies one as Sorin, one of Gretchen's captors who escaped them. He fights them off, but the advancing archers convince him to retreat, Sorin's presence having revealed to him that Lucas and Vankaskan, and maybe even Gretchen, are in Cape Gala, and the Horselords are being manipulated. Whitley, who fled from the Greencloaks who wanted her to return to Bergan, is suddenly kidnapped, but her captors reveal theselves to be Romari, a nomadic tribe who worship the wolf and intend to help her rescue her friend, just as Hector, who is being haunted by a Vile form of Vincent, recruits the former Boarguard, while also realising that he has some degree of power over his brother. Broghan, held prisoner by the Lionguard in Cape Gala, regains consciousness to see Lucas with Duke Lorimer. Lorimer, it seems, was promised safety in return for supporting the Lions while Lucas surprises him: he never intended to flee to Bast, he intended to welcome the Bastians to Lyssia! The warriors enter the Keep, along with Opal, who seems to be in charge. She promptly murders Lorimer and orders Lucas to murder Broghan. The Wolf's Council also witness the arrival of the Bastians. Leopold, in lion form, taunts Bergan with the fact that his reinforcements are coming. Vega discovers this from himself when visiting the Maelstrom's crow's nest, after his own fleet is scuppered. Earl Mikkel, bound for his home of Stormdale, is intercepted by an unknown force, which overpowers his own men. He stares at the group's leader as he is decapitated. Part 5 Drew infiltrates Cape Gala's citadel using his lupine abilities before donning a Horselord's discarded clothing and entering the building itself. He eavesdrops on Ewan, who has given up hope, telling Lord Conrad the Horselord to keep his head down. Drew approaches the Ramlord, but is promptly knocked out by him. Whitley, with help from the Romari and two surviving members of the Greencloaks (Tristam and Quist) disguises herself as a servant boy while the tribe performs for the guards and poisons their water supply. On her way out, one man catches her, but offers to help her and her associates. Back in Highcliff, Manfred has recovered enough to participate in war as his fellow Werelords prepare themselves. Vega returns and tells them that the enemy fleet bore the flag of Onyx the Werepanther, the Beast of Bast. One man from the opposing army rides up to the perimeter walls, having tied something to the end of his horse. He is identified as a Doglord of Omir, but what is more shocking is what he is pulling along: the head of Earl Mikkel. The man Whitley encountered was Conrad, and with his knowledge and men, the Romari attack the citadel. As the majority of the enemy was incapacitated earlier, it does not take long for them to reach the prison cells. They find and free both Gretchen and Harker. On the other hand, however, the battle for Highcliff is going badly. The Wolfguard are being pushed back and it is not long before Bergan encounters the Doglord, Canis. Bergan fights him to a standstill before he is slain be Manfred, stabbed with a broken-off antler. Vega reaches them and convinces them that the battle is lost. Carver, who has been called up for his knowledge of the Lyssian underworld, reveals three passages out of Highcliff for the civilians to be evacuated. Ringlin and Ibal arrive with a carriage to escort the Werelords (bar Vega) to the Buck House to retrieve Amelie. Drew awakens to find himself chained by the hand in the citadel and is promptly attacked by the reanimated corpse of Broghan. Drew kicks him away but is attacked by a transformed Vankaskan, but, after a brief battle, Drew is able to choke him with his chains and decapitates him, but, with the other dead bodies fast approaching, he is forced to transform and bite off his own hand. He backs into the balcony of the courtroom just as Whitley, Gretchen and the others arrive, but, before they can reunite, Drew is carried away by a strange figure, and loses consiousness. Back in Highcliff, Hector, with his Boarguard, the Queen and Manfred try to assist with the evacuation, but are trapped among civilians. Bergan, with Carver and another group of soldiers meant to act as a last line of defence for those fleeing into the underground tunnels are attacked by Leopold and his followers. Desperate, Bergan collapses the tunnels around him, preventing the Lionguard from advancing, but at the cost of his own life. Vega also flees along the coastal line, having overseen the escape of civilians by sea. He retreats to the Maelstrom, just as it leaves the port. Leopold, having returned to his throne, welcomes the forces that allowed his victory, the Dogs and Cats of Omir and Bast. However, neither party shows any respect, the Catlords even mock him, stealing his throne and crown. In fact, they attack him, the Bastians slaughtering the Lionguard. When Leopold begs for forgiveness, Onyx calls on Lucas, who promptly murders his father. Epilogue Hector's group is revealed to have boarded the Maelstrom, and this new Wolf's Council plans to seek refuge in Icegarden, with Bergan's cousin, Duke Henrik. The Horselords from Cape Gala have joined with the Romari and plan to Calico with Ewan, to seek refuge from Duke Brand, while Gretchen, Whitley and the Romari themselves plan to travel to Brackenholme. A boy from the city itself is called forward, and claims to have seen Drew fly out of the citadel. Drew himself awakens and meets Djogo, a mystifying Hawklord named Lady Shah, and Kesslar, having been recruited as a slave. However, he decides that he ''will ''return to Lyssia, and remains defiant. Onyx, having travelled to Cape Gala, retrieves Vankaskan's skull, Drew's hand and the ring of Wergar and plans to find a way to recapture and kill Drew. The outrider reappears and boldly claims to be capable of killing Drew Ferran himself, claiming the Wolfshead blade for himself. The outrider is his brother, Trent Ferran. Category:Chapteers